Capsule-based beverage preparation devices that enable the safe and convenient preparation of a ready-to-drink nutritional composition are already available on the market nowadays. A common principle of these devices is the utilization of capsules or cartridges that comprise a single-dose of nutritional ingredients for preparing the desired composition. After placing the capsule into a receiving chamber of the brewing head of the device and enclosing it therein, filtered respectively sanitized liquid such as water is injected into the capsule in order to interact, e.g. by means of dissolution and/or extraction, with the ingredients of the capsule. The resulting beverage is then drained from the capsule into a dedicated receiving receptacle placed below the brewing head of the device. The nutritional composition prepared by such beverage preparation device may be for example an infant formula, a nutritional liquid for toddlers, invalids, elderly people, persons having nutritional deficiencies or athletes. The term “nutritional composition” in the present context of the presently disclosed and/or claimed inventive concept(s) may further extend to standard “beverages” such as coffee, tea, milk-based drinks and the like.
EP 2 082 670 discloses a beverage preparation device adapted for receiving a capsule containing nutritional ingredients and to supply water thereto in order to reconstitute the nutritional composition, wherein the device comprises filtering means for treating the water in order to remove pathogens. Further, the device comprises purging means to empty the cartridge from residual liquid, for example, by flushing the liquid in the cartridge with a gas. For this reason, an air pump may be connected to a brewing head of the device in order to enable the flushing of any residual liquid within a capsule into a receptacle placed beneath the capsule. The purging means also reduce the risk of contamination by a back-flow of the nutritional composition into the device.
WO 2010/128028 relates to a capsule and a device for preparation of a nutritional product, wherein the device is adapted to supply pressurized liquid into the capsule, the capsule comprising at least one compartment containing nutritional ingredients for the preparation of a nutritional composition in combination with the supplied liquid. The device comprises a liquid injector for providing liquid into the capsule and a gas injector for injecting gas into the capsule, wherein the gas injector is spatially distant from the liquid injector. The device further comprises activation means in form of a hinged cam means that are rotated about a horizontal axis and which sequentially apply a downward pressing force onto a hinged injection means and an air inlet spike of capsule opening means. Thereby, the cam means comprise a first portion acting on the hinged injection means and a second portion acting on the air inlet spike.
Such arrangement of the activation means for the movement of the liquid and a gas injection means however has the disadvantage of a relatively cumbersome and not very accurate sequential activation of the liquid and gas injection means. In addition, a rather large space is occupied by the activation means within the brewing head of the device.
Therefore, an enhanced activation means and opening mechanism is sought-after which enable an accurate and simplified movement of the liquid and gas injection means with respect to an upper membrane or injection face of the capsule. Further, it is desired to provide a very space-saving arrangement of the activation means within the device.
The presently disclosed and/or claimed inventive concept(s) seeks to address the above-described problems. The presently disclosed and/or claimed inventive concept(s) also aims at other objects and particularly the solution of other problems as will appear in the rest of the present description.